Architecture in New York

New York is the land of the skyscrapers, the symbol of American innovation and prosperity, although it is only a part of the immense architectural treasure that New York hosts. The City filled with exciting and original buildings, each one representing different architectural styles such as Art Deco Style, Beaux-Arts, Federal Architecture, French Renaissance and Modern Architecture.

Visitors will love a visit to the Municipal Arts Society, commonly known as the MAS, a entity responsible for the preservation of architecture in NYC. The MAS offers exhibits, classes about architecture, and tours which includes walks around the World Trade Center for discussions about Ground Zero, the progress of the Freedom Tower and the already completed World Trade Center 7.

In the earliest 1920, skyscrapers began to be built in the Art Deco Architecture; three of the finest examples of this style are the Chrysler Building at Lexington Avenue, the Empire State Building (once the tallest building in the world) and the iconic 30 Rock or GE Building at the centre of Rockefeller Plaza.

The Dakota Apartments, built by Henry Hardenbergh, are a splendid paradigm of a building designed in the Beaux Arts Style, another example of Beaux Arts is the Ansonia Hotel. The New York Public Library and the star-studded ceiling of the Main Concourse of the Grand Central Terminal (between Vanderbilt and Lexington Avenues) are other stunning examples of Beaux-Arts architecture.

The Catholic St. Patrick’s Cathedral (between 50th and 51st Streets in Manhattan) is an excellent example of Neo-Gothic architecture; the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue) is the world's largest Gothic-Style cathedral and even is still in construction process.

The most famous examples of International Style are the Lever House (at 390 Park Avenue), the Seagram Building (at 375 Park Avenue), and the United Nations Headquarters (on the east side of Midtown Manhattan). Examples of post modern architecture are the Sony Building (at 550 Madison Avenue, originally AT&T Building) and the Lipstick Building (at 885 Third Avenue, a design by Philip Johnson), among others.

One of the most important architectural landmarks in New York is, definitively, the Guggenheim Museum the last major work of the famous designer and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Brooklyn Bridge; the world’s first steel suspension bridge; is an authentic architectural feat. Central Park is a main architectural attraction because every bush, tree, and rock was meticulously designed. Other world-famous architectural sites in New York City includes Rockefeller Center (in the centre of Midtown Manhattan), and Trump Tower (at 725 Fifth Avenue).